Dec 3rd - Monthly Update?

It seems almost like my efforts in outfit posting come only once a month, and this time it was because I was reminded to finally take a few photographs after my new hair trim.

I'm quite pleased with the trim, although some of my roommates insist the difference is negligible. And my efforts to include more color into my wardrobe was not in vain! During Black Friday insanity at Urban Outfitters, I picked up this neat red piece for the more-than-enjoyable price of $5. I now simply refer to it as my five dollar dress.









Yes, I'm aware I wear this coat a lot. Sadly it doesn't get very chilly in southern California.

Dress - Urban Outfitters $5
Jacket - Metropark $20
Boots - Nine West Gifted
Dotted Tights - Ebay $8
Beret - H&M ~$15

Nov 9th - Out of Season

That promise to wear more color is going absolutely horribly. It can't possibly be me, can it? Do you all find it simply easier to deal with dressing in simple monochrome than in a beautiful mess of colors?

I honestly think my hat is meant to redeem that somehow, but in a rather poor fashion.

I'm not much of a fan of wearing non-black flat shoes with my black thigh highs, but today just happened to be one of those days where I throw up my hands and go "why not?" and went a point or two up on my spontaneity scale. Of course it's not quite Style Bubble status of eclecticism, but at least I'm slowly making progress.

It feels good to simply try again.

Lykke Li - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (The Shirelles cover)







White Ruffled Blouse - Urban Outfitters $20
Leather-esque Waist Skirt - Buffalo Exchange $14
Black Coat - Metropark $20
Vintage NineWest Brogues - Salvation Army $9
Vintage Straw Hat - Salvation Army $3

Winter Inspiration Board

With funds running so short in my life, it's difficult to really expand and creatively work with my closet. Maybe it's a mental stump, where inspiration and resources at hand don't quite match up the way I wish for them to. Whatever the case, I feel like starting with an inspiration board will really help boost the neurons into kicking up some really neat winter outfits from pieces that I've had and worn for years now.


70's period makeup and styling inspired by Angelica Huston


Elegant floor-length gowns


Sequins and flow


Lauren Moffatt's 60's aesthetic for her Honeymooner's collection


Sweet longer-sleeved day dresses


Large cape-like outerwear pieces


Fur, military, and thigh-high socks

Let the experimenting begin!

Sept 28th - Returning to Closetbug

It's been forever and a day since I've last been able to bring some life and activity to ClosetBug. Once again summer and come and gone, bringing in a fresh clean slate for my fourth year here at UCSD and a fresh fall haircut. I'm not entirely sure how many inches exactly I cut off (7 would be a fairly good estimate), but I did it a few weeks ago and have loved my hair ever since. While it's true that there isn't nearly as much to do with hair of such short length, I feel like keeping it in curls really brings out a more romantic aesthetic. And it doesn't look half-bad straightened either, so it's just a pleasing overall change.

My first dive back into documenting my outfits comes with the arrival of Vampire Weekend at SOMA in San Diego with Beach House and The Very Best opening for them. It was a rather mediocre set, at least in comparison to my last run-in with Vampire Weekend back in April for Coachella. But it was a great way to just dress up and have fun out.



Floral Bustier - Buffalo Exchange $15
Black Waist Skirt - Banana Republic $12
Lace CoverUp - Thrift Trader $5
Strappy Sandals - Macy's $40

Hope to keep up the blogging streak!

Autumn Beauty

It's unbelievable how fast summer is going by. All I want to do with my day is just relax on a couch with my kitten sleeping nearby and read The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm. (A lovely book that I would recommend to anyone, as his concepts of love seem almost perfect and universal to all.) Although I do have summer school and I am obligated to spend much of my time and attention to the mundane activities of my education, summer feels the most liberating in the sense that the weather is just too perfect and warm here in San Diego.

But despite summer fantasies, I've got my own inspiration board in line for this Autumn season. The most notable change I've made to my wardrobe to accommodate changing trends is the reintroduction of pants to my wardrobe. Although not very many, I've stuck to ankle-length black slacks and dark boot cut jeans in order to bring in a warmer and more casual alternative. And now that my hair has grown much longer in length and shorter in fringe, I've been really looking into diving into the "undone updo" look, although I'm horrible at creatively achieving it. Anyone have any ideas on how to make it work?











As for the last two images, I thought the ruffles and the light airy fabric was just so lovely. Despite what some people may think about it's appropriateness for the fall season, I find it to be lovely and just right for layering and staying feminine.

Josephine Baker

We all have our own inspirational historical heroine, from the fast and furious Edie Sedgwick to the timeless and classic Audrey Hepburn. But what ties these women together is that they continue to inspire countless girls who grow up fashioning themselves after their own icon.

When I took a History of Paris class, I was introduced to one particularly lovely and amazing woman by the name of Josephine Baker. She started off as a simple American entertainer, but helped the French Resistance during World War 2 by using her status as a European celebrity to smuggle information past Nazi soldiers in Paris. Beyond that she was an active speaker for the Civil Rights Movement, refusing to perform in any segregated venue, and shames the Angelina brood with the adoption of 12 children from all across the world.

To me, she is an example of the few women in this world that can really used her status to create a name for herself in history for more than her looks and talent. With the cheeky smile and charm that seems to resonate from every photo, I was so immensely inspired that I wanted to share her influence with everyone out in the blogosphere.











Photo Credit: Josephine Baker Website
Learn More @ Wiki

kitten love

First off, I have to thank Wasn't A Fairytale for the shoutout to Closetbug. I'm glad you enjoy my blog so much, Eugenia!

I've had a fantastic and amazing birthday! After spending a day out with close friends then my mother, I ended the night on a high note on the VIP Deck of the Troubadour watching Stars perform an amazing set of their new music and their fan-favourite songs. I felt like I was on air as I watched Amy Millan and the rest of the band croon to songs I've spent so much of my younger high school years listening to.

To top it off, I was off to Vegas with my family and my close crew of friends. We stayed at a condo suite at Bally's and ate the most decadent of dinners. It was full of fun times and great memories. And as a note, I would advise any passerby's of Vegas to stop by the Revolution lounge. The lounge is designed by Cirque de Soleil and inspired by the Beatles, lovely!

And finally, a picture of the latest addition to my love life.



Leopold, my little 9 week old baby

Life has been good and wild, and I've been loving every minute of it. Since my birthday came with some extra flow of extra money, I've been browsing and stalking the pages of Modcloth for an extra boost in fashion fun. I'm ESPECIALLY in love with these pieces...





In looooove. Hope to have an outfit post soon! Ciao!

June 3rd - lights, camera, and action

I may have mentioned this before, but my old Sony Cybershot camera decided to fall into gadget heaven right around my Coachella trip. Luckily I was graced with a new Cybershot (a more upgraded one, thankfully) as a premature present for my birthday, something I was really anticipating for a small amount of time. After much bargain hunting and Best Buy looting, not to mention a little side trip to the park by my townhouse, I finally have an outfit update for all you lovelies.

Vintage White Slip - Jet Rag Vintage $10
Vintage Floral Robe - Buffalo Exchange $4
Vintage Brown Purse - Thrift
Brown Braided Belt - Thrift
Silk Hair Clip - H&M $5

It's surprising how black this camera makes my hair look. It's really more like a dark brown, even without the sunlight. Hope you all are having a lovely June! I'll see you again after my 21st festivities!

to lust is so painful

After a magical afternoon cruising through the streets of Alhambra CA, I found myself truly experiencing the waves of a heated California summer. While I'm basking here in Orange County, I'm counting to the days when I'm back in San Diego and into the waters. I always feel so at ease in the water. Perhaps it's that feeling of freedom, of release, that sense of weightlessness that seems to be lacking in my life on land. Not that I insist on being melodramatic, but it doesn't hurt to enjoy the occasional release from even the slightest of stresses.

My 21st is creeping up soon. It's eerie how quickly this entire year passed by. It feels like yesterday that I was fresh out of my Sophmore year of college and now I'm simply a year away from leaving San Diego and onto bigger endeavors.

For a brief moment tonight, I think I'll put aside my heavy thoughts and indulge in some (slightly) painful lusting.


Zooey Deschanel by Ellen von Unwerth
Vintage-inspired one-pieces, cute little updos, and the perfect beachy eyewear



Julia Stegner by Carter Smith
Light airy neutral fabrics, beautiful updos, and ruffles


Sasha Pivovarova/Natasa Vojnovic by Craig McDean
Romantic beautiful lingerie-inspired pieces

Time for me to swimsuit shop! I can't seem to find any place with a wonderful variety of affordable vintage-inspired swimsuits. Anyone have any suggestions?

A Bug in the Flowers

It's been such a while since I've been in the blogging block. My last outfit post, if you could really count it as a significant one, was a fluke in which I was able to find a photo of Coachella that actually had an outfit on it. (One outfit out of a three day fest?! Horrible horrible me!) About two weeks ago, I got together with an old high school friend of mine for a nice little Closetbug photoshoot, featuring yours truly as well as some clothes I plan on selling off some time soon.

It was situated in the Long Beach Nature Center, which was so much more than what I had expected. Everything was so lovely and fresh, even if we were stuck on a trail and weren't really allowed to wander all that much. It was hilarious to jam some random music while quickly and discreetly changing in between branches and bushes.

Definitely something I plan on doing again. I also received a new camera just yesterday, so that should be amazing to play around with. It's a Sony Cybershot H55, which is a more advanced point and shoot camera. I'm so thrilled to try it out, and I honestly feel like this calls for another photoshoot of some sort.

Here's hoping for a refreshed new blogging career!

















Photos by STEPHANIE LIM, modeled by Heather Choi & Christina Pham.

Most clothing modeled by Heather will be available for purchase. She's wearing (in order of appearance); Black Rodarte for Target halter dress, vintage gold chain white quilted purse, vintage floral country dress, vintage pink floral dress, and a vintage crop top.

I'm wearing (in order of appearance); Vintage floral babydoll dress + gap denim jacket + forever 21 bowler cap + vintage black booties, foreign x-change one shoulder dress, civvies floral dress.

If you guys are curious about anything, let me know!

Spring Dreaming

It's been forever since I've updated and needless to say I've been going through withdrawls from the lack of blogging. (What happens? Life simply creeps up on me and surprises me with multiple activities!) Things have been going well, although with my camera on the fritz since Coachella weekend it's been difficult to take photos of my spring wardrobe. However despite those setbacks, I've got a pleasant surprise for my blog and my readers in an upcoming blogpost that I hope you all will enjoy.

Until then, I present to you a "spring dreaming" feature.


A DIY tutorial on the Martha Stewart site on how to make these lovely hanging paper flowers from paper bags. Given the right colors and cut, I can imagine a real shower of gorgeous flowers dangling from the ceiling of my room.

I hope you all are doing well. ♥